


Never Gonna Give You Up

by Miyuki_scourgeofthefirenation



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aang mentioned - Freeform, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, College AU, Humor, Katara mentioned, M/M, Oneshot, POV Sokka (Avatar), POV Zuko (Avatar), Pining, Zuko is an Awkward Turtleduck, iroh mentioned - Freeform, rickrolling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-06-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:01:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24650461
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miyuki_scourgeofthefirenation/pseuds/Miyuki_scourgeofthefirenation
Summary: A simple Rickroll between friends can lead to great things you know.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 188





	Never Gonna Give You Up

**Author's Note:**

> This oneshot is based off of this excellent prompt from promptlywritingideas on Tumblr. I hope nobody minds that I went ahead and gave it a whirl!  
> OTP Prompt  
> Person A tries to Rick-roll person B. 
> 
> Person B, who has never heard of Rick-rolling, is both confused and flattered that A is surprising them with a love song. 
> 
> I am American, and so my descriptions of university life will be coming from that lens. My mental image of the school is coming from the school I went to when I did my undergrad. I will not be sharing the name of said school for privacy reasons, but rest assured it is a very nice school and campus. Yes the lagoon and fearsome geese are real.
> 
> This is only my second fanfic writing attempt so again please be nice to me! Also, no I have not edited this at all.

Zuko has been sitting in the campus library for ages working on his philosophy paper. Well, for what feels like ages to him anyway. In actuality it has only been about two and a half hours. He glumly looks out across the mostly empty library. It’s Thursday of finals week and most of the student body has finished up with their classes for the semester and headed home to start winter break. Zuko is still here working though, because even his standard deep dislike of procrastination wasn’t enough to get him to write this dreaded paper sooner. He sighs and turns his attention back to his computer screen. He knows it’s his own fault, he knows better than to put things off like this. Both the paper, which is due tomorrow, and the philosophy class itself. It’s a required 100 level course for his history degree, but for some reason unknown even to himself at this point he put off taking it until now, his senior year at the university.

Grumbling a bit at himself and what he sees in this moment as his own sheer stupidity he adjusts his headphones and refocuses on the paper at hand. Or rather, he attempts to focus on the paper at hand, only to be distracted by the ding of an incoming email sounding through his headphones. Eager to grab onto anything that might give him reason to further put off finishing his philosophy paper he quickly clicks open his email on the computer. It’s from his friend (and longtime crush) Sokka, who is an engineering major at the university. The two met freshman year when they were moving into the same dorm and Zuko was knocked over in the hallway by an excitable bald-headed teenager. Sokka stopped to help Zuko up, and aimed quite a tirade about watching out towards the teenager (named Aang as Zuko learned) who it turned out was helping him move in. The two wound up living just a couple rooms away from each other, and they quickly became fast friends. Sokka was a real lifeline for Zuko, especially during sophomore year when Zuko had to tell his father he was changing his major from finance to history. That went particularly badly, and Zuko has not spoken with either his father or sister since, despite Azula attending the same school currently as a sophomore. Thankfully, he has his Uncle Iroh to lean on as well, Iroh even allowed him to come live with him in his apartment in town after the blowup happened. Sokka shares an apartment with his sister Katara, a sophomore biology student, and essentially with Aang, who is now a freshman and spends so much time at the siblings apartment he practically lives there too despite the requirement for all freshman to live in the dorms their first year.

Shaking himself out of his momentary reminiscence he reads the subject line of the email. “ **Very Important,** ” he says softly to himself with a slight frown. Sokka is a pretty laid-back guy, so for him to note something as Very Important must be a matter of quite some urgency. Zuko opens the email and begins reading the rest of it.

_Zuko,_   
_Hey buddy. I have something really important that I needed to share with you. It’s a bit difficult for me to say in person, so I wrote this email instead. Though now that I’m typing out this email I am still overcome with awkwardness. Please just click on the link below. K. Thanks. Byyyyee._

Zuko frowns again at the email. He briefly considers the possibility that Sokka got hacked and this is all some sort of phishing scheme, but decides to ignore that in order to satisfy his mounting curiosity. He clicks on the link and is taken to...YouTube? He tilts his head to the side, wondering why on earth Sokka linked him to a YouTube video, much less why he would do it over email. Usually he would send something like that over text. The ad before the video ends and Zuko is confronted with a lanky red-headed man dancing along to what sounds like an enthusiastically 80’s beat. Zuko is quite confused, he’s not exactly an 80’s music kinda guy, and he didn’t think Sokka was either. Why would this be what he needed to show Zuko so badly? Zuko continues watching the video, and also starts to pay attention to the lyrics of the song.

~I just wanna tell you how I'm feeling/Gotta make you understand~ warbles through Zuko’s headphones and it’s like an electric current has passed through him. Wait, this couldn’t possibly be? He thinks. There’s no way Sokka has feelings for him too and decided to tell him this way… Then again, he did say he didn’t know how to say this to Zuko in person so…

~We've known each other for so long/Your heart's been aching, but/You're too shy to say it/Inside, we both know what's been going on~ Again, Zuko feels an electric current go through him. There have been so many times he wanted to tell Sokka how he felt about him, so many times he got his hopes up that he might feel the same way back, but he always shied away. Too afraid of misconstruing situations and ruining their friendship. But now it seemed like Sokka was taking a chance, did that mean Zuko should too? The next line of the song settled it. ~And if you ask me how I'm feeling/Don't tell me you're too blind to see/Never gonna give you up…~ Just like that Zuko was packing up his things and getting ready to go see Sokka. His philosophy paper could wait, he should probably see about getting Uncle’s help with it anyway, he was great with that kind of stuff. Zuko’s heart feels ready to burst as he races out of the library towards Sokka’s apartment.

* * *

Sokka is having a pretty good day so far. He officially submitted his last assignment for the semester yesterday (by that of course it means it was submitted exactly 2 minutes before the online portal closed at midnight, but submitted is still submitted). He woke up a little before noon and has been playing video games in the living room ever since. Katara is out being gross with Aang somewhere, so he has the apartment completely to himself. While up getting a mid-afternoon snack he received a snapchat from Zuko, sadly lamenting the unfinished state of his philosophy paper. Normally Sokka is the one who procrastinates until the last minute and Zuko scolds him for it. Oh how the turntables, he thinks with a smirk. As a joke to cheer his gloomy best friend up he decides to Rickroll him. He does it over email so hopefully Zuko doesn’t realize what it is right away. Rickrolling used to be so easy, now everyone is always expecting it so doing it properly is a lot harder. Sokka is a sucker for a good old-fashioned Rickroll though, so he always wants to attempt it if he can. Grinning he goes back to playing his game.

He startles away from his game about twenty minutes later by a knocking on the door. Sokka isn’t expecting anyone, so he gets up from the couch somewhat warily. Looking through the door viewer he sees Zuko standing outside. Surprised to see his friend, but very happy about it, Sokka swings open the door.

“Zuko!” he exclaims. “I thought you would still be hunkered down at the library! Finally finished? We can start the break off right with video games!” Zuko just stares at him for a minute.

“Did you mean it?” he blurts out suddenly. That throws Sokka for a loop. Mean what? Did he do something to inadvertently upset Zuko? He spins back through his mind but can’t come up with anything.

“Uh…” he says awkwardly. “I gotta admit I’m not exactly following you here. Mean what?”

“Oh,” Zuko gulps, looking nervous now. “The-the video you sent… The song, it was...uh...rather lovey-dovey, I guess?” He’s not looking at Sokka anymore, suddenly fascinated by the concrete of the doorstep. Now Sokka is the one staring.

“Well, that’s the song used for a Rickroll…” he trails off, watching Zuko’s face.

“Rickroll?” Zuko questions, looking up slightly.

“Yeah,” Sokka says, “You know, when you get someone to click on a link thinking it’s gonna be something else but then it’s a Rickroll instead?” Zuko shuffles awkwardly on his feet, mumbling something under his breath. “Wait, you seriously don’t know what Rickrolling is?” Sokka asks incredulously. “You’ve never been Rickrolled, or Rickrolled anybody else? Nobody around you has ever been Rickrolled?” He begins to laugh and Zuko finally looks up to glare at him.

“I had a rather strict and sheltered upbringing if you recall,” he snaps. Sokka nods and tries to look serious at that and stop his laughter but he can’t quite manage it. The corner of Zuko’s mouth twitches upwards at the expression on his friend’s face, which is rapidly going red from suppressed laughter. “Okay,” he sighs, “Laugh away. Since we’ve now gotten that cleared up I suppose I should go and finally finish my philosophy paper.”

“You still haven’t finished?” Sokka asks as his laughter quickly dies down.

"No,” Zuko says. “I was about 60% done when I…” he looks uncomfortable. “Had to… come here…” Now Sokka is looking at him, something unreadable in his eyes.

“Zuko. Since you’ve never been Rickrolled before, what exactly did you think I meant by that video?” Zuko is back to avoiding his eyes again. “Zuko?” Sokka presses. If this means what Sokka wants it to mean…

“I,” Zuko starts nervously. Something resolves inside him though, and he takes a deep, calming breath. “I thought, or maybe hoped, that it was your way of saying you… Liked me. More than in a friend way.” Zuko finally meets Sokka’s gaze. “But clearly I was wrong, so now I’ll be getting along to throwing myself into the lagoon.” He turns away, intending to head home and work on forgetting this ever happened.

“It could be, you know.” That makes him turn around.

“What?”

“It could be me telling you I like you. And not in the friend way.” Sokka says, an undeniably hopeful expression crossing his face. “Because I do. I have for quite a while. I mean, I was just trying to Rickroll you, but if this situation can end with us confessing our affection and attraction for each other instead that would be waaaaay better as far as I’m concerned. Unless, of course, you don’t actually feel that way. In which case it would be my turn to throw myself into the lagoon.” Zuko decides not to say anything to that, he just reaches out and pulls Sokka into a deep kiss. It’s a couple minutes before they break apart, smiles on both of their faces.

“Well,” Sokka clears his throat. “I guess throwing ourselves into the lagoon will just have to wait for another day.” Zuko grins at this.

“It’s probably for the best, the lagoon is filthy. Plus the geese would absolutely peck us to death if we attempted to do such a thing.”

“You’re absolutely right!” Sokka laughs. “You’re so smart, I knew I liked you for a reason! You know, besides the whole smoking hot thing you have going on.” Zuko gives him a playful shove backwards into the apartment. He still has to finish the damn philosophy paper, but he thinks he can spare some time right now to spend on much more enjoyable activities.

**Author's Note:**

> I am not quite sure how Zuko could be completely unaware of Rickrolling as a concept in the modern world, but if anyone could it is him. Let’s just go with it, with minimal real explanation on my part as to how that’s possible.
> 
> The procrastination situation (both paper and putting off 100 level courses) come directly from my own personal experience at my university. I gave Zuko my major because I could and I wanted to. Yes, I had to take a philosophy class, yes I procrastinated taking it until my junior year. No, that class surprisingly was not the cause of the paper procrastination I used as inspiration for this, and no, it also was not the main cause of my feelings regarding putting off getting 100 level required courses over with. I managed to take not one but two of those in my very. last. semester. You’d think I would have learned my lesson. I did not. It turns out I never do. 
> 
> Maybe one day I will actually get around to writing the long fanfic I have planned out. Alas, today is not that day. Hope you enjoyed this instead!  
> ~  
> Follow me on Tumblr if you wanna! @miyuki-scourgeofthefirenation  
> I take fic requests, though I make no promises about timeliness in fulfilling them. Hit me up on Tumblr and we can talk about it. No NSFW. Don’t ask, it’s not gonna happen.  
> I upload for ATLA on Sundays!


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